Confusion in Austin lingers over when to call 911 or 311
AUSTIN, Texas - When it comes to calling 911 or 311 in Austin, some people say they are still confused about what to do.
James McCain, who's been living in England for almost a decade, is in Austin to pursue music.
He said a night on Sixth Street turned into a nightmare when the paperwork he needed to get back to England went missing.
"Firstly, I wake up, and then someone had my iPhone and hands it to me, and they said you've been stumbling around the street, and then I'm like 'Where's my bag, where's my bag?'" said McCain.
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McCain said his passport, laptop, £200, and even his residency permit from England was gone.
"They took everything," said McCain. "They basically took my life."
That night McCain found a stranger willing to help him, Zion Jefimoff.
"I'm irritated," said Jefimoff. "I felt that the news and the whole world needed to know what's going on in 2023."
They said they called 911 together, but dispatchers asked them to redirect the call to 311.
"They told me that I guess because the robber wasn't there at the time," said McCain.
Confusing messaging from APD on 311 and 911
This all stemmed from a Tweet about jugging, where a suspect follows a victim to steal from them after they withdraw money from a bank or ATM. APD originally posted people should call 311 if they are a jugging victim, and then walked that back saying robbery victims should call 911.
Earlier this month, Austin police began asking people to call 311 for jugging, where a suspect follows and steals from a victim after they've left a bank or ATM.
Shortly after that tweet, it said when a robbery occurs, callers can report the crime to 911, but when a burglary occurs, they should call 311.
In 2021, APD said it began routing calls where the suspect left the scene, and there was no threat to life or property to the non-emergency line because of staffing shortages.
"If you dial 911, I think it should be taken seriously, and 311 is not taking us citizens seriously at all," said Jefimoff.
McCain and Jefimoff said they tracked down a police officer in person to fill out a report.
"This is terrible," said McCain. "I'm not even from the city of Austin. I'm saying, I'm an outsider, and I think y'all got to do better."
Austin police said that based on what McCaine told 911 dispatchers, the crime was reported as a theft and not a robbery.
In that case, APD said calling 311 is the proper protocol.